An Open Debate in NYC

Trevor Lyman is the man who organized the Ron Paul money bombs. One Lyman money bomb raised $4 million in one day. Another raised $6 million in one day.

Now, Lyman is at it again. Lyman wants to hold a third party debate in New York City. Lyman was inspired by Ron Paul's press conference a couple of weeks ago. At that press conference, Paul called on his followers to ditch the two major parties and throw their support to one of the independent or third party candidates.

If Lyman gets 10,000 pledges by October 8, he and the other sponsors will organize a debate in New York City. All major candidates -- Nader, Barr, McKinney, Baldwin, Obama and McCain will be invited. Already, with no publicity, Lyman has close to 1,000 pledgers.

Use the above link for want more information and make a pledge.

Michael H. Drucker
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Ron Paul urges third-party vote

Texas Congressman Ron Paul is to urge voters to reject Democrat Barack Obama and Republican John McCain and vote for a third-party US candidate instead.

Dr Paul, who dropped his own bid for the Republican nomination earlier this year, has a big internet following. He is backing independent Ralph Nader, Libertarian Bob Barr, Constitution Party contender Chuck Baldwin and Green Party candidate Cynthia McKinney, a former Democratic congresswoman for Georgia.

"The strongest message can be sent by rejecting the two-party system," he will tell a Washington news conference. "This can be accomplished by voting for one of the non-establishment, principled candidates."

According to an advance copy of Dr Paul's remarks, he will say the mainstream parties have no major differences on important issues, such as balancing the budget and civil liberties.

Mr Nader is quoted by the Associated Press as saying the gathering of third-party candidates would "raise the eyebrows" of commentators sceptical about their chances in November's presidential election. "This is the beginning of the realignment of American politics," he told the AP.

There was one empty chair next to the other candidates, set aside for former Republican Rep. Bob Barr of Georgia. Barr is the Libertarian Party's candidate, and he decided to hold his own conference immediately after the unity event.

Barr told the audience at his press conference, "I'm not interested in third parties getting the most possible votes. I'm interested in Bob Barr as the nominee for the Libertarian Party getting the most possible votes."

Michael H. Drucker
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IPNY Still to Pick Presidential Candidate

Thanks to Richard Winger of Ballot Access News for this one:

"The New York Independence Party has a tradition of choosing its presidential nominee at the last possible moment. In 2000, it chose John Hagelin on September 24. In 2004, it chose Ralph Nader on September 26.

State chair Frank MacKay says this tradition will continue this year. The most likely date for the party to choose its presidential candidate is September 21, a Sunday.

New York state is able to cope with late decisions because it uses mechanical voting machines. One advantage of mechanical voting machines is that they can be easily and quickly set up. Elections officials don’t need to print entire ballots; they merely must print up narrow strips of paper which are inserted into the right slots on the face of the machines. However, New York will be giving up its mechanical voting machines after the November 2008 election, since the Help America Vote Act (HAVA) outlawed them."

Michael H. Drucker
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The Ron Paul Factor

In a move most unusual for this body, the Libertarian National Committee just adopted a resolution encouraging Ron Paul to seek the Libertarian Party presidential nomination. The LNC is meeting in Charleston, SC this weekend.

The resolution recognized Paul’s standing and history with the Libertarian Party. It also recognized a renewed passion that Paul has ignited across America.

From the resolution:

In the event that Republican primary voters select a candidate other than Congressman Paul in February of 2008, the Libertarian National Committee invites Congressman Ron Paul to seek the presidential nomination of the Libertarian Party to be decided in Denver, Colorado during the Memorial Day weekend of 2008.

The motion was raised by former Congressman Bob Barr and approved unanimously by the board.

Since Texas permits someone to run for president and Congress simultaneously, Ron Paul would be free, if he wished to, to run for re-election to Congress as a Republican, and as the Libertarian nominee for President. No Texas law says that if a person runs for two offices simultaneously, he or she can’t have one party’s nomination for one office, and another party’s nomination for the other office.

Michael H. Drucker
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